Link/Xref Tab
The Link/Xref tab enables you to insert links or cross references into DITA topics. If you select the > menu choice or the Link toolbar button and the Resource Manager is not already open, the Resource Manager opens with the Link/Xref tab active. This tab is available in the Resource Manager when you are editing a topic or a specialization of a topic.
The Link/Xref tab has two different states. The first state is for inserting links or cross references to local documents. The second state is for inserting links or cross references to documents on the Internet.
Options for Inserting Links or Cross References to Local Documents
For inserting links or cross references to local documents, the Link/Xref tab contains the following options:
• Look in — Determines the location of the content displayed in the Resource Manager browser.
Select a location from the drop-down list. This field always contains the location currently available in the browser. Double-clicking on a folder in the browser causes that folder to be displayed in the Look in field. If you select The Web in this list, the Link/Xref tab changes to the state for inserting references to Internet documents.
The list contains a
Favorite Locations
choice. Selecting this choice moves the location displayed in the browser to the
Favorite Locations node where there is a list of the favorite locations you have saved.
The list also contains a
History
choice. Selecting this choice moves the location displayed in the browser to the
History node where there is a list of all the locations you have visited in the current session.
• Menu button
— Displays a menu that contains the following options:
◦ Open (suffixed with Document) — If you have a document selected in the browser, opens that document in a new window.
Selected XML, DITA, SGML, and HTML documents open in a new Arbortext Editor window. Other types of documents or graphics open in the associated application. For example, a graphic opens in your default graphics application.
◦ Clear History — Clears the list of visited locations from the History node in the browser.
This choice is only available when the History node is selected.
◦ Add to Favorites — Adds the selected location to the Favorite Locations list.
This choice is only available when a file system folder, content management system (CMS) folder, or similar location is selected in the browser.
◦ Remove from Favorites — Removes the selected location from the Favorite Locations list.
This choice is only available when an item in the Favorite Locations list is selected.
◦ Move Up — Moves an item in the Favorite Locations list up one level in the list.
This choice is only available when an item in the Favorite Locations list is selected.
◦ Move Down — Moves an item in the Favorite Locations list down one level in the list.
This choice is only available when an item in the Favorite Locations list is selected.
◦ Export Favorites — Opens the Save As dialog box where you can save the list of your current favorite locations in an XML file.
This choice is only available when the Favorite Locations node is selected in the browser. This option saves your favorites in an XML file that can then be imported as a list of favorites using the Import Favorites menu choice. Do not modify this XML file, as it is just intended for saving a list of favorites.
◦ Import Favorites — Opens the Open dialog box where you can select an XML file containing an exported Resource Manager favorites list.
This choice is only available when the Favorite Locations node is selected in the browser. This option enables you to import as a list of favorites that were exported using the Export Favorites menu choice.
After you select a file in the Open dialog box and click Open, another dialog box opens asking whether to Merge with or replace current favorites list? Click Merge to have locations in the imported list that are not already in your current list added to your favorites list. Click Replace to have your current favorites list completely replaced by the imported list.
◦ Check Out and Edit — Opens the selected CMS object in Arbortext Editor for editing.
If the object is not checked out, the Resource Manager checks out (locks) the object for you. You have the option to check out any dependant objects in the same operation. This menu choice is only available for PTC Server connection objects.
◦ Check Out — Checks out (locks) the selected unlocked CMS object.
You have the option to check out any dependant objects in the same operation. This menu choice is only available for PTC Server connection objects.
◦ Undo Check Out — Cancels the check out of a CMS object and discards any changes made to that checked out version.
After canceling the check out of an object, if the document object is open in Arbortext Editor, it changes to read-only. This menu choice is only available for PTC Server connection objects.
◦ Properties — Displays the
Object Properties dialog box containing the properties of the selected object.
This menu choice is only available for PTC Server connection objects.
◦ Search CMS — Displays the
Search dialog box.
This menu choice is only available for PTC Server connection objects. The Search dialog box allows you to enter a query to find all CMS objects matching some search criteria. Search results appear in the CMS Search Results part of the Resource Manager browser.
◦ Clear CMS Search Results — Clears any CMS objects that have been added to the CMS Search Results part of the Resource Manager browser.
This menu choice is only available for supported CMS adapters. This option does not remove those objects from the CMS, just from the Resource Manager browser.
This menu choice is only available in the Link/Xref tab when you are linking to an intelligent graphic. If you use the menu in the version of the Link/Xref tab for modifying a link, this menu choice is named Modify Highlight Link. If you use this menu in the Add Link dialog box, this menu choice is named Add Highlight Link.
This menu choice is only available in the Link/Xref tab when you are linking to an intelligent graphic. If you use the menu in the version of the Link/Xref tab for modifying a link, this menu choice is named Modify Animation Link. If you use this menu in the Add Link dialog box, this menu choice is named Add Animation Link.
This menu choice is only available in the Link/Xref tab when you are linking to an intelligent graphic. If you use the menu in the version of the Link/Xref tab for modifying a link, this menu choice is named Modify View Link. If you use this menu in the Add Link dialog box, this menu choice is named Add View Link.
◦ Synchronize Location Across Tabs — Determines whether the first location you browse to in the Resource Manager browser is maintained when you switch to a different tab or open another Resource Manager dialog box.
The setting of the ditasynctabs advanced preference determines whether this feature is on or off by default.
• Previous Folder button
— Moves the location displayed in the browser to the last folder that was displayed in the browser.
The Resource Manager maintains a history of the folders you have viewed in the current session, so you can use this button to move the browser view back through that history. If you have viewed only one folder in the current session, this button is disabled.
• Up One Level button
— Moves the location displayed in the browser up one level in the current hierarchy.
If you are at the top of the hierarchy, this button is disabled.
• Refresh button
— Updates the browser view to reflect any changes made to the objects displayed in the browser.
• Browse the Web button
— Changes the
Link/Xref tab to the state for inserting references from the Internet.
• Current Document button
— Opens the current document in the browser view.
• Use CMS Object Browser button
— Invokes the
Browser for the
PTC Server connection or a repository adapter.
This button is only available when you are connected to a content management system (CMS) through the PTC Server connection or a repository adapter.
• Search CMS button
— Invokes the
Search dialog box.
This button is only available for PTC Server connection objects. The Search dialog box enables you to enter a query to find all CMS objects matching some search criteria. Search results appear in the CMS Search Results part of the Resource Manager browser.
• Filter — Enables you to filter the list of files and document elements displayed in the browser.
When you enter text in this option, the list of files and document elements displayed in the browser is filtered to just show the files or elements for which the labels contain the text you have entered. In this case, the Filter option and the browser display a light yellow background color to indicate that the contents of the browser are being filtered.
For example, if you enter “test”, then just objects with labels containing “Test”, “testing”, “test cases”, and so forth are displayed in the browser. If you have expanded a document to show the elements inside the document, then the displayed elements are also filtered. In this case, the document remains displayed in the browser even if its label does not contain the filter text.
Filtering is case insensitive. Folders and similar objects are not filtered. If you enter multiple terms in the Filter option, the matching labels must contain all of those terms.
• Resource Manager browser — Provides a file system, content management system (CMS), or document hierarchy.
The Resource Manager browser enables you to locate content in either a file system or a CMS to insert into your document. The browser provides a hierarchical view of the contents of the file system or CMS. In addition to showing folder and files, the browser also enables you to view the contents of DITA documents. For example, when you are using the Link/Xref tab, the browser shows you the elements in a DITA document that are available for use as a link or cross reference based on the current context in the document. If a title for an element is available, the title is displayed in the browser next to the element. The element's ID is also displayed, depending on the setting of the ditahideids advanced preference.
If the document contains intelligent graphics, those graphics have a special icon
associated with them. This icon appears below the graphic in the browser and shows the type of intelligent graphic links you can insert for that graphic (for example,
Insert Highlight Link). Intelligent graphics enable you to create links that modify the graphic when the link is selected. Intelligent graphics enable links to open different views of the graphic, start animations, or highlight parts of the graphic. If you want to create these sorts of links for an intelligent graphic, select the graphic and either double-click on the
choices in the browser, or use the
Menu button or the
Resource Manager shortcut menu to indicate the type of link you want to create. If you just want to insert a regular link to the graphic, click the
Insert button as usual.
If you are browsing the contents of a DITA map that contains key definitions, you can expand that map and the key definitions are indicated by a key icon
. If you select a key definition, the key name is inserted in the
Keyref option. If you insert the reference with the key definition selected, the value of the
href,
scope,
type, and
format attributes from the key definition are used for the inserted link or cross reference. The value of the
navtitle attribute is used for the link text. The setting of the
ditakeyrefui advanced preference determines whether this option is available in the
Resource Manager browser. Note that the
navtitle attribute is not applicable in case of DITA 2.0 documents.
The browser contains a
Favorite Locations node that contains the list of the favorites locations you have saved. Double-clicking on one of the favorites opens that location in the browser. If a favorite location is not currently available, for example if the location has been deleted or is a CMS folder and you are not logged onto the CMS, then the folder has special icon
to indicate that status.
The browser also contains a
History node that contains a list of all the locations you have visited in the current session. Double-clicking on one of the locations opens that location in the browser.
Click on the plus sign ( + ) in the hierarchy to open a level in the hierarchy or the contents of a document. Click on the minus sign ( – ) to close a level or document. Click on an object in the hierarchy to select it. Double-click on a folder to move the browser focus to that folder. Double-click on a document element to insert a link or cross reference to that element into your document.
You can insert a reference to content displayed in the browser into your document in the following ways:
◦ Highlighting an element and selecting the Insert button
◦ Double-clicking on an element
◦ Using drag and drop
If you double-click on the The Web node in the browser, the Link/Xref tab changes to the state for inserting references to Internet documents.
• Type — Determines the type of document displayed in the Resource Manager browser.
Use this drop-down list to filter the documents displayed in the browser by the type of document. You can choose the following types of documents:
◦ Topic — Only display DITA topic documents.
◦ Topic or Map — Display either DITA map or topic documents.
◦ Map — Only display DITA map documents.
◦ Image — Only display graphic files.
◦ PDF — Only display PDF documents.
◦ HTML — Only display HTML documents.
◦ Any — Display all types of documents.
• Show — Determines the type of elements displayed for DITA documents in the Resource Manager browser.
Use this drop-down list to filter the elements displayed for documents in the browser by the type of element.
• Insert — Determines the type of element to insert into the document.
Use this drop-down list to select the type of element to insert into your document. For unspecialized DITA topics, only the xref or link elements are available.
• Keyref — Enables you to optionally enter a key name to insert in the keyref attribute for the reference.
Use this option when you want to add a key reference to the reference you are inserting. The setting of the ditakeyrefui advanced preference determines whether this option is available in the Resource Manager. If there are keys defined in one of the key-defining maps set in either the ditakeycontext or ditakeybaselist advanced preferences for the object selected in the browser, then those keys appear in the drop-down list by default.
• Insert button — Inserts a link or cross reference to the selected document element into the document you are editing.
If the current context in your document is not a valid insertion point, this button is disabled.
Options for Inserting Links or Cross References to Documents on the Internet
For inserting links or cross references to a document on the Internet, the Link/Xref tab contains the following options:
• Look in — Determines the state of the Link/Xref tab.
This option is always set to The Web when you are inserting a link or cross reference to a document on the Internet. Selecting a different location from the drop-down list changes the state of the tab to that for inserting references to local documents.
Menu button
— Displays a menu that contains the following options:
◦ Open (suffixed with Document) — This choice is disabled.
◦ Search CMS — Displays the
Search dialog box.
This menu choice is only available for PTC Server connection objects.
◦ Clear CMS Search Results — Clears any CMS objects that have been added to the CMS Search Results part of the Resource Manager browser.
◦ Synchronize Location Across Tabs — Determines whether the first location you browse to in the Resource Manager browser is maintained when you switch to a different tab or open another Resource Manager dialog box.
The setting of the ditasynctabs advanced preference determines whether this feature is on or off by default.
• Previous Folder button
— Moves the location displayed in the browser to the last folder that was displayed in the browser.
If the last location you viewed in the browser is not The Web, the state of the tab changes to that for inserting references to local documents.
• Up One Level button
— This button is disabled.
• Refresh button
— This button is disabled.
• Browse the Web button
— This button is disabled.
• Current Document button
— Opens the current document in the browser view.
The state of the tab changes to that for inserting references to local documents.
• Use CMS Object Browser button
— Invokes the
Browser for the
PTC Server connection or a repository adapter.
This button is only available when you are connected to a content management system (CMS) through the PTC Server connection or a repository adapter.
• Search CMS button
— Invokes the
Search dialog box.
This button is only available for PTC Server connection objects. The Search dialog box enables you to enter a query to find all CMS objects matching some search criteria. Search results appear in the CMS Search Results part of the Resource Manager browser.
• URL — Displays the URL to be inserted for your link or cross reference.
You can either edit this field to add the desired URL or select the Get Browser URL button to insert the URL for the web page displayed in your active web browser into the option.
• Open Browser — Opens your default web browser.
If there is a URL in the
URL option, the web browser opens with that web page displayed. Note that you must have a default web browser set either in your operating system or in the
Preferences dialog box’s
File Locations preferences to use this option.
• Get Browser URL — Inserts the URL for the web page displayed in your active web browser into the URL option.
Note that you must have a default web browser set either in your operating system or in the
Preferences dialog box’s
File Locations preferences to use this option.
• Insert — Determines the type of element to insert into the document.
Use this drop-down list to select the type of element to insert into your document. For unspecialized DITA topics, only the xref or link elements are available.
• Keyref — Enables you to optionally enter a key name to insert in the keyref attribute for the reference.
Use this option when you want to add a key reference to the reference you are inserting. The setting of the ditakeyrefui advanced preference determines whether this option is available in the Resource Manager. If there are keys defined in one of the key-defining maps set in either the ditakeycontext or ditakeybaselist advanced preferences for the URL displayed in the browser, then those keys appear in the drop-down list by default.
• Insert button — Inserts a link or cross reference to the designated URL into the document you are editing.
If the current context in your document is not a valid insertion point, this button is disabled.